Qualitative Design Toolkit: Qualitative Methods for Monitoring Food Security Activities

Implementer-Led Design, Evidence, Analysis and Learning (IDEAL)'s Qualitative Design Toolkit supports monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and program staff from USAID/BHA-funded activities to design and conduct rigorous qualitative inquiry to improve learning and activity implementation. It provides general guidance, steps to conduct qualitative inquiry, and practical tools for monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities. This toolkit is filled with guidance, practical tools, and templates and will show you how to use qualitative methods to go beyond mere "anecdotal information" to understand the dynamics that underlie your program's quantitative indicators, gaining insights on what is or isn't working and why. The toolkit is a step-by-step guide for completing the Qualitative Inquiry Planning Sheet (QuIPS) template used by BHA-funded activities to outline the methods and plans for conducting qualitative monitoring (QM) and stand-alone qualitative studies (QS) that are part of an activity’s performance monitoring system.